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The Variscan Orogeny in Europe – Understanding Supercontinent Formation, December 2025, Vol. 21, No. 6
$20.00The Variscan orogeny was one of the most significant mountain-building events in Earth’s geological history, occurring between 380 and 300 million years ago during the assembly of the Pangea supercontinent. Through multiple cycles of continental collision, ocean basin opening and closure, and the accretion of Gondwana-derived continental fragments onto the Laurussia margin, the Variscan belt became a defining feature of ancient Europe’s tectonic evolution.
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Sample Return Through the Ages, October 2025, Vol. 21, No. 5
$20.00This exciting issue of Elements explores the extraordinary scientific discoveries made possible through sample return missions from across our solar system. By studying extraterrestrial materials collected by both crewed and robotic missions, scientists have gained unprecedented insights into the mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry of planetary bodies ranging from the Sun and Moon to asteroids, comets, and Mars.
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Re-Os – Clock with Clout, August 2025, Vol. 21, No. 4
$20.00The Re-Os isotope system is one of the most powerful tools in modern geochemistry, despite involving two of the rarest elements found within Earth’s silicate mantle. Known for their unique siderophile, chalcophile, and organophile behavior, rhenium (Re) and osmium (Os) provide scientists with exceptional capabilities for radiometric dating and geochemical source tracing. This remarkable isotope system helps researchers answer geological questions that cannot be resolved using other radiometric methods.
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Greenalite – A Tiny Crystal with a Big Story , June 2025, Vol. 21, No. 3
$20.00Greenalite [Fe3Si2O5(OH)4] is an iron-rich Fe(II)-serpentine mineral first identified in the Lake Superior iron formations more than a century ago. Today, with the help of advanced in-situ nanoscale imaging techniques, scientists are uncovering the true significance of this microscopic mineral in shaping Earth’s geological history. Recent research highlights nanoparticulate greenalite as a key contributor to the formation of early Precambrian banded iron formations (BIFs), offering new insights into the chemistry of ancient oceans and the evolution of the planet’s early atmosphere.
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Biomineral Geochemistry: Windows into Past Climates and Calcification, April 2025, Vol. 21, No. 2
$20.00Marine calcium carbonate biominerals, especially the shells and skeletons produced by molluscs, corals, and the immeasurably numerous calcifying phytoplankton and zooplankton, are of both societal and environmental importance for two key reasons. Firstly, the mineralised remains of these organisms are one of the largest longterm sinks of carbon on Earth’s surface. Secondly, and perhaps more practically, the (trace) element and isotopic composition of these biominerals probably represents the most widely applied tool for quantitatively reconstructing past environmental conditions on timescales from days to millions of years.
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Birth and Growth of Minerals from Aqueous Solutions, February 2025, Vol. 21, No. 1
$20.00The birth and growth of minerals from aqueous solutions is a ubiquitous process in both natural and engineered environments. This research field has recently experienced a paradigm shift due to the discovery of non-classical nucleation and growth processes.
